Lake Powell, though not a lake, may well be, as its defenders assert, the most beautiful reservoir in the world. Certainly it has a photogenic backdrop of buttes and mesas projecting above the expansive surface of stagnant waters where the speedboats, houseboats and cabin cruisers play. But it is no longer a wilderness. It is no longer a place of natural life. It is no longer Glen Canyon.
Which word from the paragraph did the author most likely use because of its negative connotation?
A. mesas
B. waters
C. stagnant
D. surface